TAMMY (2014) – My rating: 7.5/10

There is something about Melissa McCarthy that is so likable.  She is funny and a fantastic actress.  She seems down to Earth — I don’t know if she is but that’s how she comes off.  Tammy is another one of her silly little comedies that just makes you laugh and have a good time watching it.  It’s not the greatest comedy but it sends some messages that are pretty profound.  Susan Sarandon was great as grandma with diabetes, swollen feet and a drinking problem.  The two of them made a funny, wild pair of misfits who just needed to get a grip on reality.  Some of Melissa’s scenes were very funny, however the element of surprise was taken away because Hollywood insist on over shooting the trailers.  I think Melissa is well known for how successfully funny she is without revealing a quarter of the movie in the coming attractions.  Kathy Bates and Sandra Oh rounded out “Tammy” to make it worth seeing on the big screen.  Good cast, good script and good acting.  Being the trailers told so much of the story, I won’t spoil it further with too much information.  I think Tammy’s a winner.

RED 2 (2013) — My rating: 8/10

Movies like this should always be viewed as fantasy.  If you do that, you’ll be able to appreciate it for the pure entertainment value.  Red 2 has everything from Marshall Arts to gun slinging, car chasing agents from the USA to China to the USSR.  May I dare say, it’s a love/hate relationship between all.  It seems a lot of today’s movies incorporate massive destruction i.e., Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim, Transformers along with the killing of not 1, not 2, but 100’s of agents and/or personnel.  Since Red 2 starred an older group of actors (Hollywood’s finest) you might expect the action would lean toward the slow side.  Not Red 2.  It was fast moving and basically fun, as well as funny and destruction was kept to a minimum.

I encountered an elderly couple walking to their car after the movie who told me Red 2 was in fact a bit too fast for them to fully process.  I could understand because of their age.  It got me to thinking, what will I be saying about movies in 20 years from now.  I’m used to fast and furious but will I be able to process it.  Will the mode change again or will I have to sit it out, due to old age?  What movies should I recommend to the elderly now?  Well for today, I really enjoyed Red 2.  Catherine Zeta-Jones is absolutely gorgeous and Helen Mirren’s body puts all to shame, old and young.  I recommend Red 2 for the under 80 crowd.  If you love Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and the legendary Anthony Hopkins,  take a chance and see it at any age.  Excellent sequel — I definitely missed Morgan Freeman.

IDENITY THIEF (2013) — My rating: 7.5/10

***SOME SPOILERS***

This is a very funny movie.  I’m so glad Hollywood didn’t minimize stealing one’s ID.  Real life Identity Thief is serious business.  The sentencing here almost fits the crime. As usual, Melissa McCarthy did an outstanding job along with Jason Bateman   I can’t give Identity Thief a high rating because I had issues with the details.  I.e., if the credit card was maxed out, how was he able to rent a car or fly to California from Colorado.  Additionally, why wasn’t he a partner at his new firm sense he started the new firm with his friend and I wasn’t clear on the “revenge on his former boss” thing.  It seems that he would have been rearrested when it all came to light.  In the scheme of things, my issues are not that important but alas, they do exist which knocks off rating points for me.  I did really like this movie and recommend it — it’s definitely not a waste of your time.  You will LOL!

THE HEAT — My rating: 8/10

Melissa McCarthy has made a whole bunch of movies.  I think The Heat is the funniest.  I deem McCarthy as the funniest female comedian of our times.  She made me laugh in Identity Thief and Bride Maids but she made my belly ache in The Heat.  Sandra Bullock, who holds her own as a comedic actress, really got a jolt as Melissa added even more spark and hilarious lines to the mix.  Comedies are ify at best.  You never know if the audience is going to take to the jokes or sit through it all like zombies waiting for the kill.  I find when too much is said about a really good movie, you tend to expect too much so I’ll stop here and say I highly recommend The Heat if you want to be thoroughly entertained and if you want to laugh out loud!

ANGER MANAGEMENT (2003) – My rating: 9/10

A True Comedy!
Anger Management was one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in quite some time. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, as I don’t like stupid comedy. There were some scenes that were so ridiculous that you had to laugh. And laugh I did. I found myself crouching down into my seat and placing my hand over my mouth to keep from being embarrassed because of my gut wrenching laughter. The guy in front of me just let it all out. I truly didn’t expect the movie to be much funnier than what was shown in the trailers.

The story reflected Adam Sadler’s journey as he traveled to get to the bottom line, control of his situation. On the way to meeting his goals, Adam learns what’s important is who you become while on the journey. Jack Nicholson was unpredictable, witty, and superbly portrayed as the anger consultant who had the task of changing Adam’s approach to life

Of course this movie was pure fantasy, after all, it is a comedy! I was thoroughly entertained.

CROSSROADS (2002) – My rating: 7/10

What a Surprise!
In my opinion, Britney Spears is all body and cannot sing. I was so surprised that not only did she show the best of her singing and acting talents in Crossroads but she did it quite well.

Crossroads is a cutesy movie about 3 young friends who make a pact to review their lives at midnight on the day of their graduation from HS. By the time graduation rolls around, they have out grown one another. Each is at a crossroad in their life. They get a gorgeous hunk only one of them knows to drive them cross country in pursuit of answers.

I loved the fact, despite 2 girls are white and 1 black, that there was no mention of race or any prejudices in the movie. It was a story that treated everyone pretty equal, except they played Britney up as the lead singer. I don’t know why viewers rated this movie poorly. It was a nice semi-quasi, escape from the fast pace, violence, and sex we see all the time. Basically, it is a feel good movie and Britney was pretty good.

EXIT WOUNDS (2001) – My rating: 6.5/10

I Had Hoped for More!
Stephen Seagal is getting better but he’s not there yet. His image can still use massive tweaking.  His clothing was tolerable and the cropping off of his pony tail helped too. Parts of the movie served as a humbling experience for Seagal, toning down his bad boy/God like image a bit. Teaming up with DMX gave a little boost to his popularity, but not much else! Alas, it’s not all gloom and doom  if you can get past the ridiculous story line, you might be slightly entertained.  Wait for the DVD.

The LADYKILLERS (2004) – My Rating: 7/10

The Awful Truth!
There has been a lot of hype about this movie. I’ve seen Tom Hanks on a few talk shows promoting the heck out of `The Ladykillers’. While the movie was funny, Tom Hanks’ character was quite annoying. He talked way too much and the words, while somewhat funny, were not funny enough to overlook or overcome the constant chatter. I actually found most of the dialog down right boring.

This unlikely crew of bandits had a most brilliant plan, which was well executed. However, when it came to the simplest task (the one that really counted), no one could accomplish it. A comedy of errors led to more and more errors which led to the biggest error, The Ladykillers!

As usual, Tom Hanks’ performance raised the bar but it wasn’t enough to raise this movie above it’s borderline tale. Ladykillers was barely entertaining. I thought George Wallace would have been better casted as part of the gang, rather than the sheriff — he’s a very funny comedian. I particularly enjoyed the performance of J. K. Simmons as Garth Pancake. His voice alone was almost worth the watch.

I recommend you wait for this movie to come out on DVD.

LOVE STINKS (1999) – My Rating: 8/10

Here’s a Comment That Makes Sense

*** VERY LIGHT SPOILERS  ***
Love Stinks is a funny movie that explores control between a man and a women. Controlling a man comes natural to many women, mostly because we’ve been in control of our lives all of our adult life. Suddenly, along comes a candidate ripe for marriage. According to the Bible, a women’s role is to be supportive and submissive allowing the man to take the lead — if you are not into what the Bible says, you’ll keep control or at least try.

I believe, in this hilarious movie, French Stewart’s character Seth knew, on some level, that this was not the right women for him. She looked magnificent, she was a heavy hitter in the sack and she was smart and loyal. So what more could a man ask for? I think in this case, he just wanted to be a man and he wanted the respect that comes along with being a man. If Bridgette Wilson’s character, Chelsea was the submissive type of women, we would have missed out on this very funny, dark comedy. Seth would have been willing to marry a soft, kind, non-controlling women in a minute. Bridgette showed her true colors by changing one of his rooms into a nursery — that should have been his first clue. Sometimes you have to ask, why is this good looking person available when picking a mate. There’s always a reason they are unattached.

I thought French Stewart did a fantastic job portraying the character Seth — demonstrating that he is an excellent actor. The ending was unpredictable and I was quite pleased with the results.

In conclusion, I think no one can really speak for how someone else will perceive a movie — I can only say, I loved “Love Stinks” and highly recommend it, especially to the ladies who have too much balls and the men who don’t have enough!

MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION (2006) – My Rating: 10/10

I Loved This Movie!
It’s crazy, funny, a little ghetto in parts, but it has a great message and it’s thoroughly entertaining. I laughed, cried, shouted, cheered, commented out loud and even clapped. Madea is an outrageous character brilliantly played by Tyler Perry as is Madea’s brother, Joe and the handsome lawyer. It feels so good to be entertained at a movie. Family Reunion gives you a chance to unwind and relax plus have a good, hardy laugh. Anyone who takes it for more is in for a surprise because there is more — a great message of forgiveness and love. It’s worth seeing. I’m not sure how IMDb, who I give a lot of respect for such an informative website, calculates the voting averages but I challenge the accuracy of 2.5. To know the Madea character is to love it and I do love it. This movie is funny!